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IGEES Analytical Note

Rebuilding Ireland – Pattern of Social Housing Construction (2016 - 2018)

PAUL KILKENNY

HOUSING, PLANNING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT VOTE

JUNE 2019

This paper has been prepared by IGEES staff in

the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform.

The views presented in this paper do not

represent the official views of the Department or

Minister for Public Expenditure& Reform.

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Summary

The Build delivery programme of Rebuilding Ireland is tasked with providing almost 34,000 additional units of social housing stock from 2016-2021 through a combination of Exchequer and non-Exchequer funded delivery mechanisms by local authorities (LAs) and approved housing bodies (AHBs). The Build programme can be summarised as follows;

LA New Build Exchequer funded traditional construction, rapid build, voids and regeneration projects on public

land. Also includes turnkey construction projects delivered on private land AHB New Build

Includes units fully and partially funded by the Exchequer. Also includes turnkey construction projects delivered on private land, partially funded through the Exchequer

Part V – New Build 10% of private developments, Exchequer funded and delivered by both LAs and AHBs

LA New Build; construction, and turnkey construction projects are Exchequer funded through the Social Housing Capital Investment Programme (SHCIP) which is administered by the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government (DHPLG). Voids and regeneration projects are also Exchequer funded.

AHB New Build is funded through the Exchequer resourced Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) and part Exchequer funded through the Capital Advanced Leasing Facility (CALF).

The Social Housing Construction Projects Status Report (CSR), provides a detailed quarterly update on the progress of new social housing construction. The CSR includes the following delivery mechanisms as a sub-component of the overall Build programme:

LA New Build (voids excluded) AHB New Build AHB Part V (only those that are funded through CALF)

Key Findings

The Build programme, in particular new build, is beginning to help address a significant demand for social housing, but at varying levels depending on location. There is a strong reliance on turnkey construction projects in some areas where demand for both social and private residential housing remains high.

o Build Expenditure has more than quadrupled from €173m in 2016 to €742m in 2018. Build output of 11,830 units accounted for 16.4% of overall delivery of 72,049 units under Rebuilding Ireland (2016 - 2018) which also includes Acquisitions, Lease, Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

o The 11,830 new social houses delivered by both LAs and AHBs under the Build programme, accounts for 35% of the total Build target from 2016 to 2021 of 33,617 units.

o Of these new social houses, 6,334 were new completions (54%) as detailed on the Construction Status Report. This is 15% of all new dwellings completed nationally (42,331) over the 3 year period.

o Completions have increased more than five-fold in the first three years of Rebuilding Ireland from 627 units in 2016 to 3,745 units by the end of 2018.

o 1,237 units or 20% of completions over the first three years were provided in Dublin City Council, 2,592 in the four Dublin LAs (41%), and 3,396 in the Greater Dublin Area (54%).

o 239 newly constructed social homes by both LAs and AHBs in Cork City in 2018 equates to 91% of CSO reported new dwellings completed in the city for the same year (262).

o 54% of all social housing completions over the period by both LAs and AHBs (3,440) were delivered through turnkey construction.

o The majority, 52% of social housing completions, were directly contracted by LAs (3,335). However 1,180 of these completions (35%) were delivered on private land through turnkey construction.

o Over the last three years, 2,258 units or 76% of AHB completions (2,982) were delivered through a combination of the CALF construction and CALF construction turnkey.

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1. Introduction

One of the key objectives of Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness is the

provision of over 50,000 new social houses across the State from 2016 to 2021. This will be achieved

through targeted delivery of additional units of social housing in 31 local authority areas across three

programme responses; Build (33,617), Acquisition (6,830) and Lease (10,036). In addition, 87,560 new

social housing tenancies will be provided in the private rental market, through the Rental

Accommodation Scheme (RAS) and the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), bringing the total targeted

delivery under the plan to just over 138,000 units. Figure 1 provides an overview of the increased level

of capital expenditure in recent years which supports the build, acquisition and leasing targets of

Rebuilding Ireland.

Figure 1: Capital & Current Expenditure on Housing in Ireland

The Build programme combines a number of delivery streams and funding mechanisms, providing

new social housing from both public and private land. The Construction Status Report (CSR), published

by the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government (DHPLG) provides detailed information

on the number of units at various stages of planning and development across the four stage planning

process from design to completion. It should be noted that the Local Authorities (LAs) are greatly

assisted in the construction of new social housing by the voluntary and co-operative housing sector or

Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs). As Rebuilding Ireland progresses, a significant amount of data with

regard to the development and delivery of new social housing is produced by the DHPLG on a quarterly

basis. Table 1 demonstrates a quadrupling of Build expenditure over the last three years.

Table 1: Rebuilding Ireland Expenditure on Build 2016

2017

2018

Total

Build Expenditure (€m)1

173 334 742 1,249

Source: DHPLG

1 Provisional outturn for 2018. Includes expenditure on voids of €34.78m in 2016, €24.69m in 2017 and €26.259m in 2018 and expenditure on homeless hubs of €14.2m in 2017 and €48.5m in 2018.

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

€B

illio

n

Capital Current

Source: DPER Databank and DHPLG. Includes rent and mortgage supplement payments in current expenditure from DEASP

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The objectives of this analytical note is as follows:

• Provide a brief explanation of financial mechanisms utilised by both LAs and AHBs in the

delivery of new social housing stock

• Present data on new social housing output in summary format by location, delivery agency

and funding mechanism, relating the delivery to social housing demand & other outputs

• Analyse and map the location of this delivery, at local authority area, visualising the data

spatially to demonstrate progress from 2016 to 2018

Section 2 will explore the Build programme and its associated funding mechanisms. Section 3 gives an

overview of social housing demand trend and overall delivery under Rebuilding Ireland, with a focus

on the location of new build social housing detailed in the Social Housing Construction Status Report.

Section 4 provides a summary of the new social housing projects in the pipeline alongside current

demand by location, followed by summary conclusions and future considerations in Section 5.

2. Build Programme & Funding Mechanisms

The Build programme of the Rebuilding Ireland plan has a target of providing 33,617 additional units

of social housing stock over the period of 2016 to 2021, through a variety of Exchequer and non-

Exchequer funded delivery mechanisms. The overall Build programme includes outputs under LA and

AHB Build programmes, regeneration, voids and Part V. At the end of 2018 cumulative Build output of

11,830 units accounted for 16.4% of overall delivery of 72,049 under Rebuilding Ireland (2016 to

2018). Delivery also included 6,781 Acquisitions, 2,620 Leased units, as well as 50,818 RAS and HAP

tenancies. Table 2 demonstrates that targets for the Build programme were exceeded in the first two

years of the plan and reached 97% of target in 2018.

Table 2: Build Programme Delivery 2016 2017 2018 Total % Total

LA New Build 320 1,014 2,022 3,336 28.2

AHB New Build 337 761 1,388 2,486 21

Part V -New Build n/a2 522 841 1,363 11.5

New Build Sub-Total 657 2,297 4,251 7,205 61

LA Voids 2,308 1,757 560 4,625 39

All Build Total 2,965 4,054 4,811 11,830 100

Rebuilding Ireland Build Targets 2,260 3,200 4,969

Source: DHPLG Local Authority Statistics on Social Housing Activity

This category is composed of traditional construction and turnkey construction projects (Inc. rapid

construction), voids, regeneration of derelict estates. With the exception of voids and regeneration,

these new build units are Exchequer funded through the Social Housing Capital Investment

Programme (SHIP) which is administered by the Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government

(DHPLG).

2 In 2016, Part V units were included in overall Build figure. They were reported separately from 2017 onwards.

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The construction of social housing units through the Build programme by LAs is funded by the Social

Housing Capital Investment Programme (SHCIP) managed centrally by DHPLG. SHCIP or SHIP also

provides funding for additional social housing construction projects through Part V developments,

turnkey scheme agreements with developers, the Rapid delivery construction programme and also

the purchase of new and second hand units (acquisitions) for social housing use. Voids and

Regeneration schemes are funded separately.

Construction

New social housing, adding to the existing stock, through traditional construction methods and

more recent modular and rapid assembly. LA construction, on their own land, is distinct from

turnkey construction on private land, and other LA Build categories of voids, regeneration and

Part V developments.

Turnkey Construction

LAs also add to their stock of social housing by contracting developers to deliver new social

housing on privately owned land, based on existing designs and planning permissions. This can

potentially speed up the delivery of new homes on private land as it obviates the obligatory four

stage planning processes for directly contracted projects by LAs on their own land. There are areas

where a local authority has limited or no land available suitable for social homes, and/or issues in

accessing this land. Market conditions in many cases mean that turnkey arrangements may be

appropriate in timescale and in some instances cost.

Voids

Voids are categorised as vacant social housing stock in need of substantial refurbishment to bring

them to a suitable letting condition and are vacant pending that work. There are three programmes

which support LAs with returning vacant social housing stock back to productive use. These are the

Voids Programme, the Derelicts Programme and the 2 into 1 Programme. The Derelicts Programme

provides additional support – above the maximum available under the Voids Programme – to LAs in

remediating more seriously derelict dwellings. The 2 into 1 Programme converts vacant bedsit type

accommodation into one bedroom units.

Regeneration

A National Regeneration Programme to target the State’s most disadvantaged communities, including

those defined by the most extreme social exclusion, unemployment and antisocial behaviour, through

the provision of physical, social and economic regeneration has continued to be funded under

Rebuilding Ireland. The National Regeneration Programme includes the provision of social housing,

improvements to existing housing, and socio-economic renewal.

The Rebuilding Ireland Construction Status Report (CSR) provides quarterly updated information on

the status of social housing development projects and details the activity by local authority area and

delivery mechanism. The Construction Status Report does not include voids and the majority of Part

V units and so there are some slight differences between LA New Build in the Construction Status

Report as set out in Table 3 and DHPLG LA Statistics data in Table 1. The CSR is a compendium of

most LA and AHB new-build activity. While some AHB Part V units are included as they are delivered

as part of wider schemes, the CSR excludes LA Part V data and voids so is not a direct match to the

overall build output, but rather a subset of same.

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Table 3: Rebuilding Ireland - LA New Build (Number of Units) Funding Mechanism 2016 2017 2018 Total % Total

SHIP Construction 193 209 831 1,233 36.8

SHIP Construction Single Stage 0 3 7 10 .3

SHIP Construction Rapid 22 186 215 423 12.6

SHIP Turnkey Construction 28 385 769 1,182 35.2

Regeneration 73 234 200 507 15.1

Total 316 1,017 2,022 3,355 100 Source: Rebuilding Ireland Construction Status Report Q.4 2018

AHB new build delivery is composed of newly constructed units, fully and partially funded by the

Exchequer. It includes construction of specialized housing for more vulnerable members of society

including the elderly and disabled. Delivery can be fully funded by the Capital Assistance Scheme or

partially funded by a fully repayable long-term loan under the Capital Advanced Leasing Facility,

where the units will be provided by the AHB under long-term lease arrangements funded by the Social

Housing Current Expenditure Programme. AHB New Build also includes turnkey construction projects

delivered on private land, many of which are funded through the Capital Advanced Leasing Facility

detailed below.

The Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) funding provides loans to AHBs to deliver housing for older

people, homeless, and people with a disability or victims of domestic violence. Loans of up to 100% of

the overall approved capital cost of eligible projects are available, subject to CAS scheme conditions.

The loans are protected by a mortgage and are non-repayable provided the accommodation continues

to be let to eligible categories of persons, and are adequately maintained. During the period 2016-

2018 expenditure on the CAS has more than doubled from €37m in 2016 to almost €81m in 2018.

The Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) provides financial support to AHBs in the form of a long-

term loan to assist with the financing of the acquisition, construction or refurbishment of units that

will be provided for social housing use. This loan facility can support up to 30% of the eligible capital

cost of the project, where the units will be provided by the AHB under long-term lease arrangements

(known as Payment and Availability Agreements and funded by the Social Housing Current

Expenditure Programme (SHCEP)) to local authorities for social housing use. The main funding

requirements are sourced by the AHB through private finance arrangements with the Housing Finance

Agency (HFA) or other sources. The demand for and suitability of the properties for social housing

must be confirmed by the housing authority. Capital advanced by the Department through the housing

authority will be repayable at the end of the Payment and Availability Agreement plus accrued

interest. While CALF funding also supports the acquisitions delivery mechanism, any reference in

this note relates only to its assistance to the AHB in constructing new build units.

The CSR also provides detailed information on AHB New Build, the vast majority of which as outlined

above is funded through CAS and CALF. There are a small number of units of LA regeneration and

turnkey construction delivered with the assistance of AHBs but funded through the SHIP programme

in 2018.

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Table 4: Rebuilding Ireland - AHB New Build (Number of Units) 2016 2017 2018 Total % Total

CAS Construction 54 70 183 307 10

CALF Construction 76 132 209 417 14

CAS Turnkey 0 0 0 0 0

CALF Turnkey 206 721 1,331 2,258 75

Total 336 923 1,723 2,982 100 Source: Rebuilding Ireland Construction Status Repot Q.4 2018

Exchequer funded Part Vs are delivered by both LAs and AHBs. The Planning & Development Act 2000

introduced obligations for social and affordable housing provision on developers. Amendments to Part

V took effect from September 2015. Section 31 of the Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015

provides, that LAs can purchase 10% of new developments (ten or more units) for social housing, or,

up to 10% of land zoned for housing development at “existing use value”. It should be noted that the

majority of Part V units are not included on the Social Housing Construction Status Report. Table 5

provides an overview of Part V developments from 2016 to 2018.

Table 5: Rebuilding Ireland Part V Build Delivery LAs & AHBs 2016

2017

2018

Total

Part V Units

36* 522 841 1,399

Source: DHPLG Statistics. *Included in overall Build total for 2016 and reported separately from 2017 onwards

3. Social Housing Demand and Delivery by Location

A social housing needs assessment is conducted each year by the Housing Agency which collates the

number of people qualified for social housing support in each local authority area. The Summary of

Social Housing Assessments3 (SSHA) is carried out by LAs under Section 21 of the Housing

(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the Social Housing Assessment (Summary) Regulations 2016.

Social housing need has reduced each year since Rebuilding Ireland was launched, from 91,600 in

2016 to 71,858 in 2018.

Table 6 provides a national overview of how social housing needs are being addressed by the Build

programme and the other social housing delivery mechanisms under Rebuilding Ireland. It is

important to note that while the delivery mechanisms may be helping to address social housing needs,

the SSHA does not provide any information on those who are no longer on the waiting list or their

social housing outcome. Also, given the lag in general residential housing supply, reductions in the

SSHA will be offset by new people qualifying for social housing each year.

3 Summary of Social Housing Needs Assessment 2018

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Table 6: Social needs assessment and social housing delivery mechanism Year SH Needs SH Delivery Build Acquisition Lease HAP RAS

2016 91,600 19,045 2,965 1,957 792 12,075 1,256

2017 85,799 25,901 4,054 2,214 827 17,916 890

2018 71,858 27,103 4,811 2,610 1,001 17,926 755

2016-2018 (-19,742) 72,049 11,830 6,781 2,620 47,917 2,901

2016-2018 % change

-22% +42% +62% +33% +26% +67% -40%

As demonstrated above, there has been an increasing response to social housing demand since 2016.

Figure 2 provides an overview by location of the 72,049 units of social housing units across all delivery

mechanisms. 11,830 units (16%) were provided through the Build programme nationally. In Dublin

City Council (DCC), 10,253 social housing solutions were provided over the period. The waiting list in

DCC decreased from just under 20,000 in 2016 to just over 16,000 in 2018, illustrating the persistently

strong demand in Ireland’s largest city where the overall housing shortage is most acute. 2,688 of units

in Dublin (26%) were provided through the Build programme across the three years.

Further analysis of the Construction Status Report demonstrates that newly constructed social

housing as a proportion of all new dwelling completions rose steadily across each year from 7% in

2016 to 21% in 2018, with an average of 15% across the three years. However, the distribution of this

new social housing varies across location, with more constructed in some areas where general

housing demand is lower. As previously demonstrated, it may be more cost-effective and efficient

to provide alternative social housing solutions in some locations4. The National Development Plan5

envisages a steady supply of 12,000 new social homes to be provided each year from 2021 through

Build, Acquisition and Leasing, which equated to approximately 34% of anticipated demand for

residential housing generally (35,000)6.

Table 7: Rebuilding Ireland Delivery 2016-2018

4 Capital & Current Expenditure on Social Housing 2018 [Page 2] 5 National Development Plan 2018-2027[Page 34] 6 ESRI Economic Ireland’s Economic Outlook: Perspectives and Policy Challenges [Page 47]

Delivery Mechanism New Units %

Build 11,830 16.4

Acquisition 6,781 9.4

Lease 2,620 3.6

New Tenancies

Housing Assistance Payment 47,917 66.6

Rental Accommodation Scheme 2,901 4

TOTAL 72,049 100

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Figure 2: Rebuilding Ireland - Total Social Housing Delivery 2016-2018

Source: DHPLG

5,714 new social homes were provided nationally in 2016 through the delivery mechanisms of build,

acquisitions and leasing. 2,965 were delivered through the Build programme, which includes voids,

new builds and a small number of Part V. The CSR details 652 units of social housing that were

constructed by LAs and AHBs in 2016 (exclusive of voids). 316 of these or 48% were provided by LAs,

with the remainder (336) delivered by AHBs. The distribution of the 652 units by LA area is visualized

in Figure 3. There were 91,600 households on the social housing waiting list7 in 2016.

155 new builds in DCC accounted for 1% of the social housing waiting list in that year, and 7% of new

dwellings completions. In Co. Kildare, which had the 3rd highest social housing waiting list in 2016, with

5,762 households, no new social homes were constructed. In contrast, Limerick City & County, with a

waiting list of 3,125 households, 57 new builds were provided. However, almost three times as many

social houses were acquired by Kildare (213) than Limerick (74) in 2016.

7 Summary of Social Housing Needs Assessment 2016

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Figure 3: Construction Status Report Completions 2016

7,095 new social homes were provided nationally in 2017 through build, acquisition and leasing. Of

these, 4,054 were delivered through the Build programme, a 37% increase on 2016. The CSR details

1,937 units of newly constructed social housing, a 197% increase on 2016. 1,014 or 52% of these were

delivered by LAs and the remainder, 923 were provided by AHBs. In 2017, the social housing waiting

list decreased by 5,801 households or 6.3% from 91,600 to 85,799.

For a second year in a row there were no new social houses built in Co. Wicklow in 2017, which has a

higher waiting list than Co. Meath where 129 new builds were provided. However, the majority of

social housing solutions, 430, or 91%, were provided through HAP in Wicklow that year. Similarly in

Co. Laois, where there was no new build for two years, HAP accounted for 324, or 72% of social

housing delivery in 2017. New build output for DCC in 2017 more than tripled to 509 units (32% of

DCC new dwelling completions8), while Kildare delivered almost 100 new units of housing in 2017 from

a base of zero in the previous year.

8 The New Dwelling Completions data series is based on the number of new dwellings connected by the ESB Network to the electricity supply and may not accord precisely with Local Authority or Eircode Routing Key boundaries.

CSO New Dwellings

CSR New Build

National %

9,907 652 7

DCC

892 155 17

Kildare

638 0 0

Limerick

279 57 20

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Figure 4: Construction Status Report Completions 2017

8,422 new social homes were delivered in 2018 through build, acquisition and leasing. The level of

build activity continued to increase with 4,811 units delivered, a 19% increase on 2017. The CSR details

3,745 new build units, 2,022 (54%) of which were provided by LAs, with remainder delivered by AHBs.

There were 573 new units of social housing constructed in DCC, which equates to 31% of all new

residential dwellings (1,835) for that year. It is interesting to note that 91% of new dwellings in Cork

City (293) in 2018 are accounted for by social housing construction (262). CSR identifies that Wicklow

and Laois delivered 73 and 91 newly constructed social housing units respectively in 2018, with more

in the pipeline as detailed in the next section.

It is now clear that output of new social housing construction has increased across the first three

years of Rebuilding Ireland with LA own build happening across every Local Authority by the end of

2018. The number of new social housing homes built in 2018 was eight times greater than the number

built in 2015, the year before Rebuilding Ireland. Construction figures from December 2018 show

almost 5,000 new social housing homes currently being built across 291 sites. These are being added

to on a weekly basis.

CSO New Dwellings

CSR New Build

National %

14,399 1,937 13

DCC

1,585 509 32

Fingal

1,826 219 12

Wicklow

351 0 0

Meath

1,091 129 12

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Figure 5: Construction Status Report Completions 2018

Taking data from the Construction Status Report, from 2016 to 2018, a total of 2,592 new social

housing was constructed in the four Dublin LAs (excluding Part Vs and voids). Figure 6 demonstrates

the sustained increase in output, particularly in 2018. While the social housing waiting list has

decreased by over 3,000 in DCC from 2016, the list increased by 135 in Fingal over the same period.

Figure 6: Number of social housing completions for Dublin LAs

0

200

400

600

800

2016 2017 2018

Un

its

DCC Fingal South County Dublin Dun Laoghaire Rathdown

CSO New Dwellings

CSR New Build

National %

18,023 3,745 21

DCC

1,835 573 31

Wicklow

590 73 15

Galway

544 48 9

Galway City

139 21 15

Cork County

1,493 186 12

Cork City

262 239 91

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4. Social Housing Construction Pipeline

The Rebuilding Ireland plan has a targeted delivery of 10,000 new social homes in 2019 through the

delivery streams of Build, Acquisition and Lease combined. The Build programme (inclusive of voids

and Part V) envisages delivery of 6,545 units across all local authority areas in 2019.

According to the Q.4 2018 Construction Status Report, there are 12,800 new units of social housing

either progressing through the four stage approval process overseen by DHPLG or on-site. It is

anticipated that there will be an increase on this figure in the next iteration of the CSR (Q.1 2019)

which is imminent at the time of writing. The four stages of approval are as follows;

Stage 1: Capital Appraisal to verify the business case and basic project suitability

Stage 2: Pre-planning outline design and cost check

Stage 3: Pre-tender costs check

Stage 4: Tender approval from DHPLG

Table 8 provides an indication of how the pipeline of social housing construction will assist in meeting

the demand as represented by the current social housing waiting lists. It is evident that in some LAs,

such as Kilkenny, Carlow and Monaghan, social housing needs will be significantly addressed

through the construction of new social homes. However, in the four Dublin LAs, where the demand

is highest, there is less reliance on social housing construction.

Table 8: Construction Pipeline for 2019 onwards V. Current Social Housing Need Local Authority CSR

Units Waiting list 2018

% Local Authority CSR Units

Waiting List 2018

%

Dublin City 1474 16,514 8.9 Carlow 310 499 62.1

Cork County 1090 3,509 31.1 Tipperary 308 1,201 25.6

Cork City 816 3,118 26.2 DLR 299 2,843 10.5

Louth 634 1,541 41.1 Galway County 269 1,819 14.8

Limerick 619 2,517 24.6 Monaghan 246 505 48.7

Kildare 582 3,962 14.7 Clare 227 1,004 22.6

Kerry 521 2,910 17.9 Offaly 225 657 34.2

South Dublin 515 4,846 10.6 Laois 179 1,024 17.5

Meath 509 1,966 25.9 Westmeath 174 1,585 11.0

Galway City 500 1,728 28.9 Sligo 168 442 38.0

Fingal 493 6,993 7.0 Mayo 162 1,175 13.8

Kilkenny 484 968 50.0 Roscommon 95 369 25.7

Wexford 479 2,177 22.0 Longford 70 542 12.9

Wicklow 459 2,477 18.5 Cavan 66 737 9.0

Waterford 457 1,117 40.9 Leitrim 43 302 14.2

Donegal 327 811 40.3 Total 12800 71,858 17.8

As discussed in Section 2, there are a number of funding and delivery mechanisms used by both LAs

and AHBs in providing new social housing stock on both public and private land. Table 9 below

demonstrates that going forward there will a significant increase in new delivery funded through SHIP

Construction. It is also evident that the number of turnkey construction developments by both LAs

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and AHBs will increase in number, however they will decrease over time relative to overall output

from the pipeline.

Table 9: Pipeline of CSR Social Housing Construction by Funding Mechanism Funding Mechanism 2016 -2018 % Pipeline %

SHIP Construction 1,230 19.4 4,751 37.1

CALF Turnkey 2,258 35.6 2,780 21.7

CAS Construction 307 4.8 1,098 8.6

CALF Construction 417 6.6 906 7.1

SHIP Construction Turnkey 1,182 18.7 885 6.9

SHIP Construction Rapid 423 6.7 718 5.6

Regeneration 507 8 597 4.7

Public Private Partnership (Bundle 1)

516 4.0

Public Private Partnership (Bundle 2)

483 3.8

SHIP Construction (Single Stage Approval Process) 10 0.2 66 0.5

Total 6334 100 12,800 100

5. Conclusions

With an increasing capital budget administered by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local

Government, the Build programme of Rebuilding Ireland is beginning to address a legacy shortfall in

the construction of new social housing stock. The Construction Status Report, produced by the

Department on a quarterly basis demonstrates that each year since 2016, the level of new build is

steadily increasing, albeit from a very low base.

There are a variety of delivery and funding mechanisms within the Build programme providing

new build social housing on both public and private land, including SHIP, CALF, CAS, Part V and

turnkey developments.

New build construction is beginning to help address the significant demand for social housing,

but at varying levels depending on location. Progress has been slow in some parts of the

Greater Dublin Area, namely Kildare and Wicklow, but output has been picking up over the

course of 2018, and the pipeline is increasing each quarter.

It is important that the Build programme targets construction of social housing where

significant demand persists.

There is a lot of useful information with regard to new build activity contained in the quarterly

Construction Status Report. DHPLG should give consideration, if possible, to including all Part

V developments (with due regard to GDPR constraints) on the CSR for completeness on

construction projects, or tracking Part V developments locally in some other way.

Information on unit type (apartment/house) and bedroom size would help identify if the

supply of social housing is appropriately addressing the needs of those on local authority

waiting lists.

In order to locally map the progress of social housing construction projects, the Department

should give consideration to an additional layer/field of data to the CSR to ascribe completions

by local electoral division area or Eircode routing (GDPR permitting).

It is clear from this analysis that a blend of alternative build delivery options are deployed to

a greater or lesser extent across Local Authority areas. While the rationale for turnkey

developments in some areas is understood, given the level of SHIP and CALF expenditure

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involved across all options, it is suggested that a more detailed assessment of the cost

effectiveness of the various build delivery mechanisms should be considered by DHPLG as a

future spending review topic.

Further longitudinal research on housing outcomes of applicants that come off the social

housing waiting list could assist in determining the efficacy and efficiency of alternative social

housing delivery mechanisms.

6. Quality Assurance & Acknowledgements

This report has been reviewed by a number of staff within the Department of Public Expenditure and

Reform, the Department of Finance and the Department of Housing Planning & Local Government.

Draft analysis was also presented at the IGEES Strategic Policy Discussion seminar held on the 8th

May 2019.

Quality Assurance Process

To ensure accuracy and methodological rigour, the author engaged in the following quality assurance process.

Internal/Departmental

Line management Peer review

External

Other Government Department (Department of Finance and Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government)

Peer review (IGEES network/Strategic Policy Discussion Seminar)

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Local Authority 2016 2017 2018 Total %

Carlow 6 43 75 124 2.0

Cavan 16 2 23 41 0.6

Clare 3 28 43 74 1.2

Cork City 31 33 239 303 4.8

Cork County 10 132 186 328 5.2

DLR 54 46 169 269 4.2

Donegal 4 11 74 89 1.4

Dublin City 155 509 573 1237 19.5

Fingal 48 219 324 591 9.3

Galway City 16 55 21 92 1.5

Galway County 13 54 48 115 1.8

Kerry 10 10 111 131 2.1

Kildare 0 94 196 290 4.6

Kilkenny 22 51 90 163 2.6

Laois 0 0 91 91 1.4

Leitrim 0 2 7 9 0.1

Limerick 57 118 100 275 4.3

Longford 0 21 51 72 1.1

Louth 29 118 167 314 5.0

Mayo 8 10 48 66 1.0

Meath 43 129 269 441 7.0

Monaghan 0 46 33 79 1.2

Offaly 0 5 12 17 0.3

Roscommon 0 16 39 55 0.9

Sligo 1 8 16 25 0.4

South Dublin 15 80 400 495 7.8

Tipperary 6 13 29 48 0.8

Waterford 51 14 119 184 2.9

Westmeath 5 23 10 38 0.6

Wexford 49 47 109 205 3.2

Wicklow 0 0 73 73 1.2

Total 652 1937 3745 6334 100

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Construction Status Report Completions 2016

Construction Status Report Completions 2017

Construction Status Report Completions 2018